>About this issue? Nothing more than what we have all read, that the
>International Olympic Committee is launching an investigation into
>Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnast He Kexin's age, the Times of London
>reported. Mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up her
>age triggered the IOC to act."If there is a question mark and we have
>a concern, which we do, we ask the governing body of any sport to look
>into it," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Friday.Messages for the
>International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) were not immediately
>returned.Mike Walker, a U.S. computer expert, said he had uncovered
>Chinese documents that prove He is 14, making her ineligible to
>compete. Officials in China insist she is 16. If an investigation
>finds that He is indeed 14, and not 16 as her passport indicates, she
>could be stripped of her gold medals in the team competition and on
>the uneven bars.Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, said in a
>statement that an investigation "would help bring closure to the issue
>and remove any cloud of speculation from this competition."In November
>2007, Xinhua, the Chinese government's news agency, reported that He
>was 13. The Associated Press found that report on Xinhua's Web site
>the morning of Aug. 14, but the page was no longer accessible by
>afternoon.When asked about the Xinhua report, Zhang Hongliang, an
>official with China's gymnastics delgation at the Olympics, had said
>it was "definitely" a mistake. He has told reporters that "my real age
>is 16." The FIG has said repeatedly that a passport is the "accepted
>proof of a gymnast's eligibility," and that China's gymnasts have
>presented ones that show they are eligible. The IOC also checked He's
>passport and deemed it valid. Good enough?